Flashback: John Mahama in a handshake with Major Gen Sampson Adeti at Burma Camp
Former President John Dramani Mahama has risen to the defence of the army general he recently appointed as the Security Coordinator for his Campaign Team while still serving in the Ghana Army.
Mr Mahama said Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti, who was caught in a car stealing scandal just before NDC left office in 2016, is a ‘distinguished’ officer who has retired, accusing the media of making ‘misleading’ impression about him.
“Our attention has been drawn to two false, mischievous and unfounded newspaper publications today regarding the appointment of Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti (rtd) as the Security Coordinator of the John Mahama 2020 Campaign,” James Agyenim-Boateng, Spokesperson for the Mahama Campaign said in a statement, insisting that “the syndicated publications create a misleading impression that Major General Adeti is a serving officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.”
“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight, Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti is a retired distinguished officer of the Ghana Armed Forces. His terminal leave ended on 13th August, 2018 after nearly 37 years of dedicated and professional service to Ghana,” the statement said.
Interestingly, although the Mahama Team claims Adeti’s service in the military ended in August, he is still occupying his official Juba Villas at the Burma Camp which he has virtually converted into the operational headquarters of the NDC, with the party’s branded vehicles trooping in and out.
The Mahama Team, according to the statement, touted Adeti’s military accomplishments, saying “until his retirement, he had served in various important Command and Staff positions in the Ghana Armed Forces, including instructor in training institutions.”
It further said that “from 2013 to 2016, Major General Adeti (rtd) was the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Army and Chief of Staff, a Member of the Military High Command of the Ghana Armed Forces from January 2016 until he was compulsorily retired by the NPP government on 10th February 2017.”
“Major General Adeti has impeccable academic qualifications, as well as a sterling record of military service. He holds four Master’s Degrees in International Affairs, Development Studies, Business Administration and Defence and Strategic Studies, and the John Mahama 2020 Campaign Team is proud of his inclusion.”
Interestingly, General Adeti, after NDC had lost power, lobbied to be appointed as Ghana’s Ambassador to Congo Democratic Republic using a certain military officer in the current NPP administration at the Jubilee House.
He denied his affiliation to the NDC, claiming to be an Akyem born in Nsawam, Adoagyiri.
Unfortunately, the lobbying hit a snag.
Missing Pick-Up
General Adeti, who had been tipped to become Army Commander, is among some senior military officers who have taken cover under the umbrella since NDC lost power.
This same army officer was cited in a car stealing scandal while serving as General Officer, Southern Command at Teshie.
The general, who was the ‘darling boy’ of the previous NDC government, was indicted for allegedly appropriating a Nissan Hard-Body Double-Cabin vehicle donated to the Southern Command of the Ghana Army by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The cover of the army chief in the alleged stealing was blown by a request made by Adeti’s successor, Brigadier General M. Whajah, GOC, Southern Command, to the BoG for operational support.
Brigadier Whajah was informed that the bank donated a pickup to the command not long ago.
With no trace of the vehicle – registered GN 4240-15, in the inventories of the Southern Command, the new officer called for more details which led to a visit to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the registration details and the custodian of the vehicle.
It turned out that General Adeti was keeping the vehicle in his garage on the blind side of the army in a dubious manner.
Killing the Investigation
Despite the damning report, Major General Adeti, who was then a Brigadier General, was promoted by President Mahama to the rank of Major General, an action which succeeded in killing the investigation into the matter because the officer who did the investigations had become Adeti’s subordinate and technically a superior cannot be investigated by an officer lower in rank.
The probing officer was subsequently transferred to the Ghana Mission in the United States in order to cover up the alleged stealing probe.
The report found out that General Adeti, Mahama’s darling, had breached military standards in respect of donated items to the Ghana Armed Forces.
Despite the revelation, he continued to be in the good books of the government; the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who commissioned the investigation Major General R.K. Opoku Adusei, was retired from the military unceremoniously for daring to probe the case.
When Adeti was asked to explain himself, he rather chose to attack the journalist from DAILY GUIDE who broke the story, calling him a ‘bounty hunter.’
COAS’s preliminary investigations had found Brig Gen Adeti to have dishonestly appropriated the vehicle.
“The fact that he drove the vehicle straight from the Bank of Ghana to his Juba Villas residence without informing neither HQ Southern Command nor Army HQ and using his residential number, personal phone and e-mail address to complete the transfer of ownership and changing the colour of the vehicle from white to dark grey, were all indicative of his intention to usurp the vehicle,” the COAS observed in the report.
He was also criticized for deliberately leaving no traces of all correspondences and documents in respect of the said vehicle.
By William Yaw Owusu